Phoenix Island (also known as “China’s Dubai,” a part of Hainan, a Belgium-sized province on the South China Sea), with its blocks of sail-shaped skyscrapers surrounded by tropical ocean is the epitome of an unprecedented housing boom.

However, Phoenix Island’s real estate prices in recent months have plummeted, exposing the fragilities of China’s growing but sometimes unbalanced economy.

Property owners are really feeling the effect of the financial crisis in China. While apartments on Phoenix Island reached the dizzying heights of 150,000 yuan ($24,500) per square metre in 2010, they are now on offer for just 70,000 yuan ($11,400).

Real estate is a pillar of the Chinese economy, accounting for almost 14 per cent of the country’s GDP last year and supporting the massive construction sector, making policymakers anxious to avoid a major collapse of the property bubble. But for now, “China’s Dubai” seems to be transforming into a deserted island. Find out more here.